


Smash Your Kneecaps on the Floor

by saveourtiredhearts



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe- BDSM, Dom Bucky Barnes, Dom/sub, M/M, Mentioned Bucky Barnes, Mentioned Howling Commandos - Freeform, Mentioned Peggy Carter - Freeform, Steve is sad again, Sub Drop, Sub Steve Rogers, Subspace, but without porn, it's like one sentence, kind of?, magic!, mentioned Howard Stark - Freeform, mentioned gangbang, no porn at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 12:37:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5785576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saveourtiredhearts/pseuds/saveourtiredhearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one knows Steve is a Sub. Because, of course, he's not--how can Captain America be a Sub?  When the serum changed him, it changed his classification too. A great American story, going from the bottom to the top, going from a Sub to a Dom.</p><p>But, even better--</p><p>No, actually, he wasn’t ever a Sub. A skinny kid, weak and sick, but still with the power to be Dom?  Persevering even though he was sickly, growing to be big and strong while holding the same American values throughout? What a fabulous piece of propaganda. Yeah, that’ll work much better for the adoring American public. </p><p>And if it works for the adoring American public, then it has to be true, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smash Your Kneecaps on the Floor

**Author's Note:**

> In this fic, I say things like “drop into subspace”. I know that a “sub drop” or “dom drop” is usually a bad thing, but I couldn’t figure out a better way to communicate how submissives in this universe can be put into subspace easily by their Doms without it soundly clunky, or badly worded. If there’s an actual term for slipping into subspace, I’d love to hear it, so I can edit this!  
> Basically, in this fic “dropping” is used to refer to going into subspace and is not a bad thing.
> 
> Also, there was SO MUCH MORE BACKGROUND in this fic than I had originally planned. (As if I really plan anything.) It was just going to be the Avengers realizing Steve is a Sub. And then it became this.

They’re all surprised when it happens.

Well, everyone but Steve was surprised.

When a submissive who’s had a Dom doesn’t go down for a while? It’s very easy to put them down. A simple “Knees” or “Drop” will do, and it doesn’t even have to be a Dom, if it’s directed to them in some sort of manner.

Seventy years is a long time for someone to go without a drop, even when they’re almost dead for the entirety of it.

And of course, no one knows Steve is a Sub. Because, of course, he's not--how can Captain America be a _Sub?_ When the serum changed him, it changed his classification too. The all-strong, super soldier serum. A great American story, going from the bottom to the top, going from a Sub to a Dom with the help of the American values of teamwork, determination, and engineering. 

But, even better--

No, actually, he wasn’t ever a Sub. A skinny kid, weak and sick, but still with the power to be Dom? The inherent power of something greater? Persevering even though he was sickly, growing to be big and strong while holding the same values throughout, of determination and strength, with some teamwork and engineering on the side? Kind of just like the American Revolution, and the resulting growth of America, even as its values stay the same? What a _fabulous_ piece of propaganda. Yeah, that’ll work much better for the adoring American public. And for all the dominants in positions of power. They want to be represented too, you know.

And if it works for the American public, (if it works for the powers on top), if that’s the story broadcasted on the radio and through the army and in the history books, then it’s gotta be true.

Steve can still see the look on Bucky’s face when he’d thought--

Well. They had gotten that misunderstanding out of the way pretty soon. Captain America didn’t have much time to give into instinct that would betray his persona, but when Steve Rogers had the chance--

Anyway.

So no one in this new millennium, knew.

For a moment, Steve suspected that Tony might know, because he was pretty sure Howard knew. But there was no jab at that on the Helicarrier, and Steve was forced to recognize that maybe Howard didn’t know. Or that he had never told his son.

Peggy knew.

The Howling Commandos found out--they weren’t very surprised. It even sort of became part of their dynamic as a group--make a plan, enact the plan, come back to base, and have Steve kneel down in front of them as they sat around the campfire, talking and chattering and stroking his hair, acting like he was barely there at all. Sometimes, rarely, if they had enough time, Bucky would let them all fuck him. Steve loved it, being passed around, used and blissed out, and Bucky loved whatever made Steve happy.

Steve doubted anything like _that_ would happen with the Avengers.

When he was brought out of the ice, he learned a couple things about the dynamics of Dom/Sub relationships in the 21st century. It wasn’t okay now for Doms to just take whatever Sub they wanted. Picking only Doms for positions of power was considered a problem, the result of prejudice. Everything was about consent, consent, consent. You couldn’t just walk up to anyone you suspected was a Sub and drop them. There were rules, regulations, consequences.

Steve was ecstatic to learn about the changes.

“It’s wonderful,” he told anyone who would listen. “That so much of what was wrong had been fixed. That submissives have so much freedom, that dominants don’t rule everything anymore. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right, and I’m so glad to see that we’ve started to correct it.”

Some were astonished by his enthusiasm. Others were perplexed. Some, mostly Subs, got it.

So no, no one had tried to drop him. No one thought he could be dropped at all, because everyone believed he was a Dom. Natasha kept trying to set him up with Subs, Tony kept teasing him about being unaccustomed to the freedoms of submissives in “this day and age, huh, old man?” and the rest of the team remained blissfully unaware.

Until, of course, a couple of months after the great Chitauri fight, a sorceress falls into their midst. Well, more like appears in the middle of the gym in Stark Tower, where, for once, the whole team is actually training together. Even Bruce is there, though he’s quietly doing yoga over on one of the mats in the corner.

And then the sorceress blinks into the existence, immediately launching into her evil monologue once all eyes are on her.

“The Avengers,” she hisses.

“Shit,” Tony says.

“Aww man,” Clint groans.

“So you think yourselves above all others, with your powers and your secrets?” It was a rhetorical question. “You are only human, mere mortals--” Tony gives a pointed cough and jerks his head towards Thor. The woman ignores him. “--and you are no more superior than the ants that I crush. You are no more superior than the beasts that surround you.”

“Rude,” murmurs Natasha. She rolls her eyes at Steve, and Steve fights the urge to laugh. They’ve dealt with a couple of crazies like this before, and it doesn’t seem like this lady is intent on doing much harm besides going on about their evil ways.

The sorceress keeps ranting. “Captain America? Hah! You think him strong, don’t you?” She spins around, eyeing each member of the team in turn. They do this a lot too, targeting Steve as the leader. Everyone wants to defile Captain America, it seems. “You think him fit to lead, you think him above all, you think him--” She’s facing Steve now, and her eyes narrow, her grin stretches, and then she says, much more quietly. “--you think him dominant.”

Steve freezes, doesn’t have a moment to protest, because then she points her finger at him and says “Kneel.”

Steve falls to his knees. How could he not? It’s weird, yes, of course it’s weird, because Steve’s always fought tooth and nail and Bucky’s been the only one who could ever keep him in line, who could ever put him down and keep him down, but--it’s been _seventy years._ He’s been without his Dom, his _Bucky,_ for over seventy years now. There was no Bucky to comfort him when he came out of the ice, no Bucky to ease the tension in his shoulders, Bucky in the war but there was barely any time, barely any space, and even with the Howling Commandos in the know, Bucky barely had any time to properly drop Steve. Perhaps that’s why the times with the Howling Commandos were so good--Steve could finally let go after weeks of tension and control. And what’s two weeks to seventy some years?

Steve would be thinking along the lines of this. If he could think.

But when the sorceress said kneel, not only had he fallen to his feet (even though she wasn’t Bucky), he’d fallen into subspace. Now he’s floating, hazy. Gone to a place where all he anticipates is pleasure, all he expects is the ease to not have to decide, the ability to relinquish control and trust that someone else has it. God, he’s _floating._ Steve’s only minorly concerned about the lack of hands on him, only mildly paying attention to the noise around him. It’s okay. It doesn’t matter. He can let go, he can just glide through this wonderful, hazy feeling of security, because Bucky’s here, he’s gonna keep Steve safe.

A warm hand slides into his thoughts and onto his shoulder. God, it feels good. Steve lets his mouth drop open, moans.

“Jesus,” someone says.

“We can’t leave him like this.”

“How are we supposed to get him upstairs?”

“We can’t move him upstairs, he’s in subspace.”

“Shit. Clint--”

“I suppose I could get Phil, but I don’t think--”

“It needs to be one of us.”

Steve’s been floating, it’s been nice, but even through the haze, it’s getting harder to ignore the voices. The hand on his shoulder has been removed, and Steve feels the loss of it like an icicle driven through his bone. Bucky’s not talking to him, Bucky’s not touching him, and _there are other people in the room._ Other people--who aren't the Howling Commandos? Something’s not right.

Steve gets a feeling of panic in his gut, but he can’t lose this haziness, not now, because finally all that tension, that pressure, is gone, has dissipated into thin air. He doesn’t open his eyes, squeezes them shut, tries to sink back down. But Bucky's doing nothing to keep him down, even though Steve, for once, isn't fighting. He  _needs_ this.

The voices are still talking.

“Bucky,” Steve manages to choke out. It’s hard to speak when he gets like this, and Bucky _knows_ that, Bucky's the one that loves to talk. “Bucky, sir, _please.”_

There’s silence. He waits. He’ll beg harder, if that’s what it takes to get Bucky to touch him, to sink him back down with a few well-placed words and touches.

“Shit, shit, shit, I _hate_ magic.”

“It’s not magic.”

“I know that, it’s just--”

“We’re not split evenly anymore.”

“We were never split evenly. Pepper’s a Dom, and most certainly an Avenger.”

“Let’s focus on the problem at hand, people. Steve’s still in subspace. How do we get him out without hurting him?”

But he’s not in subspace, not really, not anymore. The witch sent him to his knees, dropped him fast and hard, but there was nothing to keep him there, nothing stopping him from returning to worries and fretting, nothing to make him stop _thinking,_ not like Bucky can.

Not like Bucky could.

Steve forces his eyes open, a gargantuan effort that seems ridiculously easy once they’re open.

Bruce is on one knee in front of him, looking for all the world like he’s about to whip out a penlight and shine it into Steve’s eyes. Tony stands behind Bruce, one arm on his shoulder, and Clint is off to Tony’s left, arms crossed and frowning. Thor’s twisting his hands in the back, and Natasha’s standing to Steve’s right, hands on her hips. They all react when Steve looks at them--shifting forward, backwards, averting their gazes or keeping their eyes fixed on his.

Steve pants, still a little lost, still a little fuzzy. Then Bruce leans forward, and says “Steve.”

Steve can’t help it. A low whine escapes from his throat, and he drops his head. A hand touches his shoulder, but now, it doesn’t feel good, and Steve struggles to his feet, shaking it off. He pitches forward, catches himself, shakes his head to try and clear it.

“Fuck,” he says, a little woozy. “You weren’t supposed to know.” He can only catch onto one thought at a time now. His stomach hurts, his bones ache, his skin itches, and he has to keep blinking his eyes. But he doesn’t want to drop because now he knows.

He remembers.

Bucky’s dead.

Steve feels sick.

“Who the hell _does_ know?” Tony asks. Steve shakes his head. He doesn’t meet his friend’s eyes.

“Peggy knew,” he says quietly. “The Howling Commandos. Maybe Howard, though I never told him directly. And--” Steve takes a deep breath. He feels off, the words coming out of his mouth dropping like stones falling from a cliff. “Bucky knew.”

“Bucky Barnes, your best friend since childhood, was your Dom?” asks Clint, incredulous. Out of the corner of his eye, Steve sees Natasha shoot him a glare.

“We were never just best friends,” says Steve quietly, considering. He wants to kneel. He wants to run. He wants to stop thinking. “Even when we first met, when we were little, we knew we were gonna be together.

“Even if you were both--” starts Bruce, looking vaguely curious.

“Both dominants, both submissives, either, or, whatever,” says Steve. “Bucky was it for me from the very start.”

The room’s very, very quiet. Steve feels unbalanced, lost, like all the oxygen’s been sucked out of the room and he’s only been breathing carbon dioxide this whole time.

“Where did the sorceress go?” he asks, when no one says anything.

“I guess she didn’t think it was going to work, since she disappeared pretty much immediately after--after she dropped you,” says Tony. Then, more confidently; “But we got a recording of her face, and JARVIS is looking out for her, isn’t that right, JARVIS?”

“Yes, sir,” acknowledges JARVIS. Steve looks up, and then flushes. He knows JARVIS isn’t actually in the ceiling, it’s just, he’s all _woozy._

“Sorry,” he says, and hangs his head.

“For what?” asks Natasha.

Steve takes a deep breath. “I didn’t tell you that I’m a submissive. I’ll call Fury, I'll tell him, I'll tell SHIELD, and I'll--" He swallows. "--I'll hand in my resignation as leader of the Avengers tomorrow, just let me--”

“What?” asks Clint, and his voice is dangerously low. Steve blinks, meets his eyes.

‘I’m a Sub, I can’t lead anything” he says automatically, not really thinking, too off-balance to think about where he is, what time he’s in.

“That’s bullshit,” says Tony and Clint at once, and the rest of the team nods their agreement at once.

“We don’t care what your classification is, Steve, we care about you. And it’s obvious to everyone that you’re the one who’s fit to lead the team,” says Clint.

“And it’s the 21st-century,” adds Tony. “Who cares about that shit?”

Well. One worry gone at least. His head still spinning, Steve manages to muster up a smile and a grin. “Okay,” he says quietly. “Thanks.”

It’s clear his friends don’t know where to go, what to do. Even Natasha looks vaguely uncomfortable. Not one of the Doms on his team is going to step up, volunteer to out him into subspace again. Steve doesn't think they'd be able to. Knows he doesn't want them to.

Steve knows he could pull it together, reassure them, tell them he's fine without a Dom, but--

He's not fine without a Dom. Without Bucky. He can't stop _thinking._

“I need to lie down,” Steve says, and pushes past the worried faces of his teammates, manages to walk efficiently until he’s out of their sight. From there he stumbles to his room, collapses onto his bed, and weeps.

Captain America doesn't cry. Captain America doesn't lie to his friends, doesn't lie to the public, doesn't lie to any organization with a higher authority than himself.

Captain America isn't a _S_ _ub._

And some jerk, some guy, from the dirt poor streets of Brooklyn, certainly isn't Captain America's _D_ _om._

Steve doesn’t sleep at all that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what I did wrong, what I did right, what I can fix, and shoot me a hello on my [tumblr!](http://yourblueeyedboys.tumblr.com/)
> 
> If you were confused, here's how I headcanon the Avngers in this verse (though I'm not sure it really matters in this story).
> 
> Doms:  
> Thor  
> Natasha  
> Pepper
> 
> Subs:  
> Bruce  
> Tony  
> Clint  
> Steve


End file.
